Magazine shifting safety device



A. O. ALBlN MAGAZINE SHIFTING SAFETY DEVICE Nov. 6, 1951 2Sl-lEETS'-SHEET 1 Filed Jan. 5, 1946 MVENTOR vmy 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Nov.6, 1951 A. o. ALBIN MAGAZINE SHIFTING SAFETY DEVICE FiledJan. 5, 1946Patented. Nov. 6, 1951 MAGAZINE SHIFTING SAFEZEK DEVICE Archer 0.Albi-n, Lynbrook, N. Y., assignor to Mergenthaler Linotype Company; acorporation of New York- Application January 3,1945, Serial No. 638,816

'1 Claims. 1

This invention relates to typographical distributing machines, such asLinotype machines of the general organization represented-in LettersPatent of the United States to O. Mergenthaler No. 436,532, whereincirculating matrices are released from a magazine in the order in whichtheir characters are to appear in print and then assembled in line, thecomposed line transferred to the face of a slotted mold, the mold filledwith molten metal to form a slug or type-bar against the matriceswhichproduce the type characters thereon, and the matrices thereafterretnrned through a distributing mechanism to the magazine from-whichthey started.

More particularly, it relates to machines of the shiftable multiplemagazine variety,wherein the magazines are movable upwardly and downwardly in the machine frame to brin different selected magazines intooperative relation to the assembling and distributing mechanisms. Thereare several different commercial models which make up this class ofmachines and the present invention has been developed particularly incon: nection with those models which include as features theimprovements disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,125,681 to RichardR. Mead.

In these machines, the shifting of the maga= zines is effected by acrank handle located at the front of the machine and connected toamagaqzine elevating mechanism which provides for a quick, easy andsmooth shifting of the magazines in changing from one to another.Themagazine elevating mechanism is so designed that asingle turn of thecrank handle will effectxa change from one magazine to the next, andmoreover, the eifort. involved in shifting the magazines so light that aforce of one pound appliedto and moved through one rotation of the crankhandle will lift a load of sixtypounds cover n a two and one-half inchmovement of the magazines. The magazines are removablymounted on sepa.-rate base frames, conjointly constitutinga frame, and the selectedmagazine is locatedin perative position by m ans o ease orlooliins barsarran ed in pairs at opposite sides of the magazines. The ga e. bars aresuppo ted at their lower ends upon aligning piecesuonthe fixed machineframe in. position to present. surfaces adapted for engagement with theunder sides of aligning lugs projecting laterally from the-oppositesides of the magazine baseframes at both ends thereof. In providingforthe-en.- gagement of the gage bars with the aligninglugs, the former arearranged tube-moved forwardly and baokwardly by the operation of a handlever so as in oneposition to stand clear of the aligning lugs duringthe shifting of the magazines, and in the other position to standbeneath the aligning lugs on the base frame of the selected magazine.

While the foregoing magazine shifting arrangement constitutes a decidedimprovement in the art, the movement of the gage bars into and out ofthe path of the aligning lugs on the base frames of the magazinesrequires clearance for blocks.) and the ease with which the magazinescan be raised and lowered, the aligninglugs may not seat firmly on thesupporting surfaces of the gage bars unless strict attention is paid tothat seating operation. Moreover, the gage bars are usually lockedagainst full movement to inoperative position unless all matrices havebeen distributed, thus avoiding shifting of the magazines at a time wheninjury to the matrices or other a s o he mac n mi 13 r the p sib it omatri slo s i t ibute t th on magazine. Ihat is to say, the gage barsare cap ble of a p rt al orwa d ov m n be he become co l y dis ga d fr mthe ali nin has of t hift fram i or to actuate. feelers for determiningwhether or not mate rices are in course of distribution and during suchmovement of the gage. bars, the magazine in use may be. unseatedinadvertently. VV'h XL-v ever the magazine becomes unseated, its upperor receiving end isout of alignment with the channel entrance andmatrices being distributed therethrough frequently lodge at this point,so that any attempt to shift the magazines at such time causes damage ordelay, or both. Further-.- more, continued distribution of matrices whenthis occurs results in the matrices piling up in the channel entrance,and much time is lost while the channel entrance is being cleared andthe cause of the difficulty discovered and remedied;

The present invention is intended to overcome the above difficulties andcontemplates an auto: matic electrically controlled safety device operaetive to prevent shifting of the magazines under the abnormal ondit onsstat dthe pre e em odim t llust t d he safe de ic includes a stooelomontmo ab ein o and o of the path of a proj ction secu ed to th hand. le ero perating the sa bars- .lhe. stop element is. controlled by asolonoidand the la ter is onergized bylthe o erationof a Inn-switch adapted 3 toclose a series .circuit through the channel entrance, the lodged matrixand magazine. Preferably, the switch is arranged adjacent to the handlever so that the projection on the latter also may actuate the switchjust before it is caused to engage the stop element.

Normally, the circuit is open due not only to the switch but also to theslight clearance gap between the upper or receiving end of the magazineand the lower or discharge end of the channel entrance. However, when amatrix becomes lodged at this point, it will bridge the clearance gapand thus serve as a means of conduct between the magazine and theentrance, the former being grounded in the machine and the latter beingcompletely insulated therefrom and appropriately wired to the switch.Under such abnormal conditions, if an attempt is made to operate thehand lever to release the shift frame, the circuit through the switchand solenoid will be closed and the stop element thus will be moved to aposition in engaging relation to the projection on said lever andpositively prevent the disengagement of the gage bars from the aligninglugs of the shift frame.

As a supplementary feature, which is intended primarily to enable theoperator immediately to locate and identify the cause of the troublewhen the operation of the hand lever is so arrested, the safety devicealso includes a red signal lamp which is wired in parallel with thesolenoid, so that it may not interfere under any conditions with thenormal operation of the stop element.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown merely by wayof example and in preferred form, but-obviously many variations andmodifications may be made therein and in its mode of application whichwill still be comprised within its spirit. It is to be understoodtherefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form orembodiment, except insofar as such limitations are specified in theappended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the upper portion of a machine equippedwith the improved safety device;

Fig. 2 is an elevation on an enlarged scale, and partly in section,showing the different parts of the safety device in their assembledrelation and the manner in which they are wired to the channelentrances; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2 lookingin the direction of the arrows.

In the embodiment illustrated, the present improvements have been shownas applied to a socalled mixing machine wherein the several magazines AA A and A are selectable in pairs, instead of singly, so that thematrices X may be withdrawn indiscriminately from both magazines of aselected pair for composition in the same line and, after the castingoperation,

returned through an appropriate distributing 2,574,005 T i W mechanismto their respective magazine channels.

distributing mechanism C at the rear. Since the operating mechanism forthe magazine shift frame is clearly shown and described in the Meadpatent before mentioned and in itself is not pertinent to the presentinvention, it will suffice merely to state that such mechanism isarranged beneath the magazines in a suitable housing 0 and controlled bya crank handle 0 through an intermediate fore-and-aft connecting shaft 0The distributing mechanism includes two character distributors C Carranged one above the other, and two channel entrances D D forconducting matrices as they'are released by the distributors into theupper or receiving ends of the two maga zines in operative'position, theupper distributor C (as shown in Fig. 1) being connected to the .lowermagazine A through the relatively long channel entrance D and the lowerdistributor C being connected to the upper magazine through the shorterchannel entrance D -T o properly locate the selected pair of magazinesin operative relation to the assembling and distributing mechanisms,there are provided two pairs of gage bars E disposed on opposite sidesof the magazines and rigidly connected together by angular spacingmembers E The gage bars, as usual, are slidably mounted at their lowerends upon fixed supporting flanges (not shown) and are formed in theirrear edges with notches or recesses e normally engaging correspondinglugs a projecting from opposite sides of the magazine base frames.However, preparatory to shifting the magazines to change from one pairto another, the gage bars aremoved forwardly against thetension ofsprings E to a position out of the path of the lugs a, and after themagazines have been raised or lowered the required extent, the springsare allowed to move the bars back to their original or active positioninto engagement with the lugs a on the base frames of the newly selectedmagazines. Operation of the gage bars E is controlled by a fore-and-afthand lever F (Fig. 1) located conveniently at the front of the machineand attached to a rock shaft G which is provided with a pair of upwardlycurved arms G engaging, from behind, pins e projecting inwardly from theconnecting members E of the gage bars. By depressing the hand lever F,the gage bars E through the intervening connections will be disengagedfrom the magazine shift frame, and as the pressure on the hand lever isrelieved, the bars will be allowed to reengage said frame undertheinfiuence of their actuating springs E As shown in Fig. 1, themachine also is equipped with the two customary feeler attachments H, Hwhich are controlled by the forward movement of the gage bars andadapted to prevent the unlocking or release of the magazine shift framewhile matrices are traversing the distributor C or C The attachment Hincludes a blade h secured to a hinged bracket arm H depending from theupper distributor beam C and the attachment H includes a correspondingor similar blade h secured to a hinged bracket arm H depending from thelower distributor beam C By swinging the brackets back and forth, theblades h and h will be carried across the path of matrices traversingthe distributors, and in order that their movements may be effectedsimultaneously the bracket arms H and H are connected together by a linkH Operation of the bracket arms is controlled by a stud e projectinginwardly from the rear extremity of one of the gage bar connectingmembers E and engaging the lower end of a vertically disposed lever Hwhich is pivoted inthe machine frame and 'operatively connected at itsupper end to the bracket arm H As the gage bars are moved forwardly byoperation of the hand lever F, the feelers will be actuated and ifamatrix or matrices should interfere, complete movement of the gage barswill be prevented so that they in turn will prevent shifting of themagazines.

After changing from one pair of magazines to the other and after thegage bars have been allowed to engage the aligning lugs a of the shiftframe, the latter is lowered slightly by a partial turn of the crankhandle so as to cause the lower sides of the lugs to bank or seat uponthe lower walls of the recesses e of said bars and thus locate themagazines of the selected pair definitely in their operative position.Consequently, when a change of magazines is desired it may be necessaryfirst to raise the shift frame, in like manner, sufficiently to unseatthe lugs a before the gage bars can be withdrawn. As the lugs areunseated, the upper ends of the bottom plates of the magazines in useare caused to occupy a position slightly above the lower ends of thebottom plates of the channel entrances, so that if matrices at suchtimes happened to be passing downwardly through the entrances in courseof distribution, they likely would lodge at this point and thus obstructthe operation of the shift frame, with the results hereinbeforeindicated. So far as described the parts, their construction and mode ofoperation are similar to those embodied in commercial Linotype machinesof the class already identified.

As previously stated, the present invention is directed to an improvedsafety device, the latter (Figs. 1 and 2) including a movable stopelement I adapted positively to prevent the disengagement of the gagebars E from the magazine shift frame, when a matrix or matrices becomelodged across the gap between the channelentrance C or C and thecorresponding magazine. The stop element I is operable by a magneticcoil or solenoid J arranged in a series circuit with the two selectedmagazines as well as with both of the channel entrances. The severalmagazines are grounded in the machine frame while the channel entrancesC and C are completely insulated therefrom, being mounted on theirindividual supporting frames D D through intermediate bars ofappropriate insulating material D D In the preferred embodimentillustrated, the stop element I and solenoid J both are supported by astationary bracket K located at the front of the machine near the gagebar control lever F. The stop element I (Fig. 3) is generallyrectangular in form and mounted, by means of a screw and slot connectionI upon an integral offset flange K of the bracket K, so as to be capableof a limited endwise movement. At one end, however, the stop element Iis formed with a downward projecting portion I which is rigidlyconnected to the core member J of the solenoid J, the latter (Figs. 2and 3) being arranged directly in front of the stop element and mountedin an appropriate jacket or housing J fastened to the bracket K. A pullspring IQ, attached to the projection I and anchored through a pin is tothe supporting flange K holds the stop element yieldingly in itsinactive position, as shown in Fig. 2. When the solenoid is energized,the stop element will be pulled forwardly against the tension of thespring I a limited distance determined by the screw and slot connectionI and when the series circuit through the solenoid is broken, the.spring will restore said element to its original position.

As a further feature of the improved device, the circuit through thesolenoid is controlled by a mu-switch L which is also included in theseries circuit and supported, as shown best in Fig. 2, by a smallupright bracket L rising from the housing J The switch L in turn iscontrolled from the hand lever F through a cam plate M secured to saidlever and engaging an intervening leafspring actuating member L The camplate M (Fig. 2) projects downwardly from the lever F and terminates atits lower end in a squared-off nose portion m located directly above andin front of a shoulder i (Fig. 3) formed on the inner edge of the stopelement I. At one end, they actuating member L is attached to the switchcover plate 1, and at its opposite or free end it is formed with ayielding bent-over portion Z for actuating the customary push or controlpin Z for the switch L. In order that the device may respond instantlyto the slightest movement of the hand lever F, the actuating member L isprovided with a tit or protuberance Z which, in the normal position ofthe parts (Fig. 2), seats in a corresponding recess 121. formed in thecontiguous edge of the cam plate M.

The parts are so arranged that when the gap between either channelentrance and the upper end of the corresponding magazine happens to bebridged by a lodged matrix and an attempt made to depress the hand leverF, a circuit through the magazine, the offending matrix, channelentrance and solenoid immediately will be closed as the push .pin 1 ofthe switch L is pressed inwardly by the unseating of the protuberance Zby the cam plate M, it being understood that a movement of very smallmagnitude is all that is required to control the operation of a switchof this particular type. As a result, the stop element I at the samemoment, through its connection with the solenoid J, will be pulledforwardly so as to position the shoulder 2' directly beneath the noseportion of the cam plate and thus prevent operation of the lever F aswell as the unlocking the magazine shift frame. When pressure on thehand lever is relieved, the series circuit will be broken at the switchso that the clogged matrix or matrices may be removed in safety.

To enable the operator quickly to locate the source of the trouble Whenoperation of the hand lever F is arrestedin the manner just stated,there is provided a signal lamp which preferably (see Fig. 2) is wiredin parallel with the solenoid J so as to function only when the seriescircuit is closed by the operation of the inn-switch L. Otherwise, i.e., if the lamp were included in said circuit, it could in the event ofbreakage or loosening in its socket void the usefulness of the wholesafety device until the difficulty was discovered and rectified.Furthermore, meaningless intermittent fiashes of the lamp are avoided asthe matrices .in course of distribution momentarily bridge the gapbetween a channel entrance and magazine.

It also should be understood that while the switch L will be closedunder normal operating conditions Whenever the hand lever F isdepressed, the series circuit through the solenoid and lamp will be openat the gaps between the entrances and magazines, and the stop element Iwill remain undisturbed in its inactive position with the stop shoulderi located out of the path of the cam plate M.

To reduce the voltage from the main supply to the minimum required tooperate the solenoid J, the series circuit further includes atransformer P (Fig. 2) of appropriate type and arranged in.

advance of the solenoid. However, if only direct current is available, abattery Q (Fig. 1) having the desired voltage may be employed and thuseliminate the necessity of a transformer.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with a series ofmatrix magazines and a shift frame therefor movable upwardly anddownwardly to bring a selected magazine into use, the combination ofmanually controlled means for operating the shift frame, a channelentrance for conducting matrices in course of distribution into aselected magazine, locking means movable into and out of engagement withthe shift frame for locating it in different positions, a safety deviceto positively prevent the disengagement of the locking means from theshift frame, said safety device being normally inactive, an electricalelement for rendering the safety device active, circuit means forenergizing said electrical element when a matrix becomes lodged betweenthe channel entrance and the selected magazine, said circuit meansincluding in series a part closable through the lodged matrix andanother normally open part, and means actuated by a partial movement ofthe locking means before their disengagement from the shift frame forclosing said normally open circuit part.

2. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with a series ofmatrix magazine and a shift frame therefor movable upwardly anddownwardly to bring a selected magazine into use, the combination ofmanually con-trolled means for operating the shift frame, a channelentrance for conducting matrices in course of distribution into aselected magazine, locking means movable into and out of engagement withthe shift frame for locating it in different positions, a hand lever foroperating said locking means, an electrically controlled safety deviceoperable to positively prevent the disengagement of the locking meansfrom the shift frame when a matrix becomes lodged between the channelentrance and the selected magazine, and means for automatically closinga series circuit through the lodged matrix to effect the operation ofthe safety device, said safety device including a projection on saidhand lever, a stop element movable into the path of said projection asthe circuit is closed, and a spring to return the stop element to andmaintain it in its original position out of said path as the circuit isbroken.

3. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with a series ofmatrix magazines and a shift frame therefor movable upwardly anddownwardly to bring a selected magazine into use, the combination ofmanually controlled means for operating the shift frame, a channel meansmovable into and out of engagement with v the shift frame for locatingit in different positions, at hand lever for operating said lockingmeans, an electrically controlled safety device operable to positivelyprevent the disengagement of the locking means from the shift frame whena'matrix becomes lodged between the channel entrance and the selectedmagazine, and means for automatically closing a series circuit throughthe lodged matrix to effect the operation of the safety device, saidsafety device including a projection on said hand lever, and anelectrical switch controlled by said projection and adapted to close theseries circuit before the locking means is disengaged from the shiftframe.

4. In a typographical distributing machine equipped with a series ofmatrix magazines and a shift frame therefor movable upwardl anddownwardly to bring a selected magazine into use, the combination ofmanually controlled means for operating the shift frame, a channelentrance for conducting matrices in course of distribution into aselected magazine, locking means movable into and out of engagement withthe shift frame for locating it in different positions, a hand lever forcontrolling the movements of the locking means,

a stop element movable from inactive to active position into the path ofa projection on said lever to prevent its operation when a matrix incourse of distribution becomes lodged between the channel entrance andthe selected magazine, a solenoid to effect such movement of the stopelement, a spring to restore the stop element to and maintain it ininactive position when the solenoid is deenergized, and an electricalswitch operable by a partial movement of the locking means prior totheir disengagement from the shift frame for closing a series circuitthrough the lodged matrix and the solenoid.

5. A combination according to claim 4, wherein the operation of theswitch is effected by the initial movement of the hand lever.

6. A combination according t claim 4, wherein the projection on the handlever is formed with a cam surface to control the operation of theswitch.

'7. A combination according to claim 4, including a signal lamp wired inparallel with the solenoid.

ARCHER O. ALBIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 425,140 Mergenthaler Apr. 8, 18901,109,872 Rogers Sept. 8, 1914 1,965,747 Medford July 10, 1934 2,325,666Czachorski Aug. 3, 1943

